Joe And Mariya In The Promised Land

“But Joe Jarusewich, who lived like one of them, had a wife he hadn’t seen since 1930. Except for a 10-year span when they lost track of one another, they had written to each other twice a month throughout that time Joe told me once that Mariya’s letters always ended with the plea: ‘Take me Take me. I want to have more than one day with you before I die.’ And now, it seemed, the wish was to be granted. When we arrived at Dore Lake, the long process of getting Mariya to Canada had begun.”

Pamela Andres – Maclean’s – March 1970

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Talking to My Family About Race

“In high school, I realized being biracial was incredibly complicated. I had trouble making Black or South Asian friends—kids from both groups too puzzled by my ethnicities to know how to approach me. It was then that I noticed I looked different from the rest of my family—much to the surprise of my mother and grandfather, who were oblivious to the stark difference in our physical traits. The rest of my family never seemed to notice my difference either.”

Eternity Martis – The Walrus – February 2019

Gerald Butts: The BFF in the PMO

“But the story Mr. Butts is trying to craft with Mr. Trudeau is more ambitious, abstract and romantic. Maybe Mr. Trudeau and Mr. Butts cooked it up back when they first became friends, as some suspect; probably it evolved over time. These are people who love the idea of big national projects, and who want to leverage Mr. Trudeau’s charisma to build a new global image and self-identity for the country.”

Adam Radwanski – The Globe and Mail – September 2016

How can Canada’s North get off diesel?

“They power every off-grid community in Nunavut, Nunavik, the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Labrador without exception — and most northern communities are off-grid. Diesel generators even keep the lights on in some of the larger centres, such as Iqaluit. Some communities have supplemented diesel with alternatives such as solar or wind, and others have plans to do so, but the pattern remains: up here, diesel is king.”

Jimmy Thomson – The Narwhal – February 2019

Canada, the show

“Times have changed. Quickly. On Tuesday Jody Wilson-Raybould, already demoted from her position as minister of justice and attorney general to minister of veterans’ affairs before our story began, announced her resignation from Justin Trudeau’s cabinet altogether. She has hired a former Supreme Court justice, Thomas Cromwell, to advise her on what she can say next. Which suggests she’s inclined to say something. Which will be fun when it happens.”

Paul Wells – Maclean’s – February 2018

Know Your History, Know Your Greatness

“In the back corner of Sandwich First Baptist Church, 70-year-old Lana Talbot lifts up a loose piece of burgundy-stained wood, exposing a four-foot drop to the dirt floor basement. It’s a trap door, built for slaves who escaped from across the border and onto free Canadian soil. In the past, the church’s bells would ring to warn those inside that U.S. bounty hunters were about to storm the service and drag escaped slaves backto their masters. The targeted slaves would lift open the piece of wood and jump into a tunnel leading to the river’s edge.”

 

Eternity Martis – Hazlitt – July 2016

Why I Won’t Tell My Grandmother I’m Gay

“Arielle and I have gone through the motions dozens of times. On Christmas Day, the gig is no different. My partner and I walk into my childhood home in the suburbs of north Toronto, waltz into the basement living room, and find my grandmother perched on a leather armchair in the corner. We greet her with a kiss on each cheek, and we humour her as she eyes us up and down and remarks on our thin frames. ‘Così bella,’ she comments. Then, without fail, in her signature southern Italian accent: ‘You are the two sisters!’ It’s intended to be a compliment, one that suggests we are of equal beauty. Instead, it belittles the very nature of our four-year relationship, reducing it to a bond of sorority instead of romantic devotion.”

Erica Lenti – The Walrus – January 2019